HK's 5-year plan, policy address aim to improve housing, help grassroots

Key indicators and initiatives — including building nearly 200,000 public housing units in the coming five years, phasing out substandard subdivided units and shortening waiting times for public rental housing — are promised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government in the city's inaugural local five-year plan and the latest Policy Address.

The authorities also commit to policies to promote fertility and increase subsidies for the grassroots, along with introducing drivers for healthcare and youth development in the two blueprints.

The two documents were announced to the public by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday during a three-hour address.

Enhancing social well-being is among six key policy areas outlined in the five-year roadmap, which was delivered first; many other measures were detailed in the subsequent Policy Address.

In the five-year plan, Lee said the government strives to resolve the housing issue by eradicating substandard subdivided units and increasing the supply of public housing.

Key performance indicators include a timeline to resolve the issue of substandard subdivided units by 2030 and build some 196,000 units of public housing from 2026-27 to 2030-31.

Meanwhile, the authorities aim at cutting waiting time for subsidized rental housing to less than four years in 2030-31. The Urban Renewal Authority will commit to spend at least around HK$40 billion ($5.1 billion) in the next five years to boost redevelopment, the five-year plan said.

Lee said the government will ensure all 30,000 Light Public Housing units — transitional residences for people queueing for public housing units for three years or more — are completed by March 2027, ahead of the target date.

By 2027, waiting time for subsidized rental housing will be shortened to 4.5 years, Lee said.

A government source said authorities expect the problem of substandard residential units to be largely addressed by 2030, with enforcement action potentially taken against any that remain.